Chewing at Clothes Through Bars

[Kiahak]

Hello!

So, I’ve been interested in putting my bunny on play-dates with another rabbit a friend of mine has. So I’ve been putting in a stuffed rabbit in her cage with hopes that it’ll adopt her scent, then I was going to introduce it to the other rabbit and vice-versa to see how they react to one other’s scent before they may meet. Well, I noticed her chewing the stuff rabbit instead. Since she is the kind of rabbit to not just chew on something, but ingest it as well, I figured maybe it was time to take it away. While I was looking at her chew marks, I could feel her pulling on my shorts through the cage since I was standing so close. I wasn’t sure, so I put my leg next to the cage and she just grabbed onto my shorts and started chewing on them! I’ve never seen her do this when I lay down with her while she is outside her cage. She usually just sniffs my clothes, but doesn’t chew on them. Only one time I saw her chew on a longsleeve I had, but in both instances it was entirely random why she started chewing on clothes, since 99% of the time she doesn’t.

I sprayed her with water when I caught her chewing on my shorts and she immediately stopped. Of course, I felt bad. I tried to research rabbits chewing on clothes, and all I saw were statements saying how it was a good things and that she was grooming me. But why would she adopt that behavior through the cage when she never does it during playtime? Was she maybe mad at me for taking away her chew toy? Because it wasn’t like she was just grabbing and pulling, but started chewing on my shorts. 

Any insight on this behavior would be much appreciated!

[tobyluv]

Most rabbits love to chew on things and they also like that pulling motion, and like having the resistance of an object when they are chewing on it.

Regarding play dates for your bunny. That would really not be a good thing to do. Bunnies that get together should be kept together permanently, and that requires proper bonding. It would be cruel to put rabbits together then separate them, and without going through the proper bonding process, (which start with both rabbits being spayed and neutered then recuperated), you are likely to get fighting and injuries when you put these rabbits together.

[Benthebunny]

My bunny pulls my clothes with his mouth. He loves to chew things. How old is your rabbit? Maybe he could be teething? Or a phase?

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